significance of $ in a share name

[yajames]

I have 1 win2k pro and 1 xp pro machines each with two disk partitions.
Both machines use the same WorkGroup name (not in a domain). I can see
through an MMC snapin that these partitions have a share name of c$ and
D$ but I can't seem to connect to these shares from the other machine
even when I connect as a user with admin priviledges on the machine i'm
trying to map.

A $ after a share name seems to mean different things when you

1. have a drive shared as say "d$"
2. Have a folder shared as "misc$"

In the second case this just seems to be a share name of my creation
that is hidden. I have no problems connecting to this type from my
other machine.

In the first case the $ after the drive name was generated by the OS at
install time and seems to require admin privileges. This is not a
problem as I attempt to map it as an admin of that machine. BUT, I just
can't seem to connect.

Does anyone know what I'm missing here ?

 

[Dave]

the $ hides the share from normal browsing. you can still connect if you
know it is there. the c$ and d$ shares are the default admin shares used
for remote admin in networks, you normally need to be an admin on the
machine you are connecting to so you can access them... so you would have to
supply user name and password of a valid local administrator on the remote
machine to gain access.

 

[yajames]

Thanks Dave.

I found the solution here:
http://www.windowsnetworking.com/j_helmig/wxpsimsh.htm

Something to do with XP pro using "Simple File Sharing". When I turned
it off on my XP machine I was able to map to my XP box's D$ drive by
logging on a an admin of the xp machine.

Apparently simple file sharing is turned on by default in XP which
results in a forcing of the guest account.

 

[Dave]

yep, that is true... and if you had posted to an xp group that might have
come up sooner. win2k didn't use 'simple file sharing', that is a new xp
thing.

 

[Ryan Hanisco]

Sure it works... Don't do this. Its a security risk.

If you need something shared, share it explicitly and set permissions.